Arnold's Wish
by Orange Ratchet
Summary: After making a wish at a wishing well, Arnold wakes up to find himself in a world where his parents are actually living in the boarding house with him... and Helga is his sister? Arnold tries to get used to the new universe, hanging out with his sister and gaining a girlfriend, even with everything changed... but will he begin to miss his old universe? Slight Arnda.
1. Waking Up To A New World

Okay, before you ask, yes, I am aware I already have a lot on my plate right now as it is when it come to the fanfictions I tend to write... but I wanted to get this first chapter out, because this idea just came to me recently, and it wouldn't leave my head... so here's the first chapter of a new story that I have in mind! Hope you all enjoy it! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

On Friday after school, Arnold was getting out of school as he was taking a deep breath. Finally, another day has been completed. Now to get to the bus to head on home...

It was then Arnold stopped when he heard one sentence, "You know, Rhonda, Mother's Day is coming up pretty soon..."

Arnold's eyes popped as he leaned his ear towards Nadine and Rhonda as the two were talking.

"Oh, wouldn't you know it?" Rhonda laughed. "Daddy and I made some plans to take her to one of her favorite restaurants... I'm buying of course."

"Cool... I was planning on treating my mom to a little small concert." Nadine said.

"Oh really?" Rhonda asked as Nadine and her started to walk on their way. "What do you plan on using?"

Arnold decided he had heard enough as he started to walk in the other direction. He groaned. He had forgotten that it was Mother's Day this weekend... just another painful reminder that his parents had not returned... well, he still had his grandparents, who were family enough to him, but he wished he had known his real parents before...

Arnold then bumped right into Helga, who was about to walk downstairs with something in her hand, but she dropped it as Helga fell down.

"Helga?" Arnold said in confusion.

"Arnold?" Helga gave a gasp of shock... then shook her head as she started to retain her 'Helga the Horrible' mode. "Run into me again, Football Head, and I'll pound you in."

"Sorry, Helga." Arnold sighed as they both got up. Arnold then bent over and picked up the thing on the ground. "You dropped your... card?"

Helga frowned as she swiped her card. "Yeah, thanks. What, you never seen a handmade Mother's Day card before? Sheesh, stop living in the Dark Ages and get with modern times!" Helga shook her head as she walked off.

Arnold just sighed as he continued walking off in depression. Helga noticed as she looked down in shame as she said to herself, "Maybe I shouldn't have cracked that joke... I know my love has his parents missing... oh, why can't I just keep my fat lip shut when it should be?"

* * *

Arnold paused as he started walking along the park. He never usually went into this area, but sometimes, when he needed some time alone, to himself, he would often take a walk. He sighed as he looked up at the sky. Sometimes, he just wished his parents were home... he often wondered if they were doing good in their mission... he often wondered if the mission was a success and they were just plane-wrecked on an island somewhere... Arnold shook in fear as he looked down. What if his parents didn't remember him?

His thoughts got trailed off for a few moments when he heard some kids laughing. He looked up as he saw a couple of kids talking with their mother as she handed them a couple of coins. Arnold watched as the kids went to a nearby fountain and threw the coins in the water as they giggled.

Arnold rolled his eyes a bit. He heard of those 'wishing' well myths before... where somebody throws a coin into the well and makes a wish in their mind... he knows that these don't really come true, but... it was a bit of a nice thought...

Arnold paused as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. He looked at the well... and at his quarter. Normally, he wouldn't believe that a simple wish would bring back his family... but he was always curious.

Arnold went to the wishing well closely as he closed his eyes, threw his coin into the well, and thought to himself, _"I wish I can live in a world where my parents were actually there for me... that's all I want..."_

When he heard the splash of the coin, Arnold opened his eyes as he sighed. "Well, that's that, then."

Arnold nodded as he started to walk off, leaving the well behind as the waters in the well began to ripple.

* * *

"Hey man! Where have you been?" Gerald asked as Arnold was coming up to the boarding house. "You missed baseball."

"Sorry, Gerald. I've been thinking..." Arnold explained. "About this weekend..."

"Weekend? Wha-" Gerald started... before his eyes widened. "Oh. Sorry."

"No, it's okay. I'm just going to stay in the house, okay." Arnold said.

"I hear you, man. You need your space." Gerald said as he went downstairs. "Hopefully, we can do something tomorrow?"

Arnold nodded. "Sure. See you tomorrow, Gerald."

Arnold hummed a little bit as he walked inside, just in time to see his grandfather coming out with a bowl of beans.

"Hey, Shortman! Beans and kraut tonight!" Grandpa Phil smiled, then frowned. "Though why Pookie thinks it's a good combination, I'll never know."

"Thanks, Grandpa... I'll just eat in my room, then bring it back, if that's okay. I'll clean up any mess I make." Arnold said.

Grandpa Phil noticed Arnold's depressed look, then up at the calendar. "Let me guess... Mother's Day."

"Pretty much." Arnold sighed as he took the bowl.

"Listen, Shortman, I know you miss your parents. Me and Pookie miss them too, and I'm sure the boarders would have LOVED to see them interact with all of us... but I just want you to know... we hope they're okay, too. They'll come back, I know it!" Arnold's grandfather smiled.

"...Thanks. I'll take your word for it." Arnold said as he went upstairs with the bowl.

As soon as he went up to his room, he sighed as he sat down at his desk and started to eat. He sighed as he looked at the picture of his parents on his shelf which he put up since he had been given the picture. Arnold sighed as he continued eating. He wondered what they looked like now, how they would treat him if they were reunited... he hoped to see them again someday...

Pretty soon, he finished his bowl as he went downstairs to give the bowl back...

* * *

The next thing he knew, it was time for bed as Arnold was now in his pajamas. He set up his clock a bit as he laid his head down on the pillow and started to sleep.

Maybe tomorrow... will be a brand new day for him...

* * *

"HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD! HEY AR-"

Arnold groaned a bit as he put his hand on the alarm, shutting it off. Arnold yawned a bit as he got up, deciding he would get a quick shower. He started to head for his closet... when he noticed something odd.

 _"Was my room always this small?"_ Arnold asked himself as he noted that some of the areas seemed to be closed in. He shrugged as he opened his closet and grabbed his clothes. He must have still not woken up yet.

He quickly walked downstairs as he took his shower. As soon as he was done, he came out, good as new as he had his usual attire on. He quickly went back to his room as... he suddenly noted two doors next to each other as Arnold pulled down the downstairs. Had there always been two doors that lead to his room? Either way, he opened up the door to the right, which lead to his room and his bed. He quickly put his pajamas in the hamper as he decided to see what his grandparents were cooking him for breakfast...

It was then he noticed something odd... for one thing, the kitchen smells coming out smelled good... and second, while he did hear his grandpa and grandma talking... he also heard two new voices... two voices he wasn't familiar with, and yet... he thought he heard them before.

Arnold, in curiosity peered into the room, and his eyes widened when he saw his grandfather and grandmother talking with two adults... one male and one female, the male with a green shirt, blue jeans, blonde hair and a chin similar to Arnold's grandfather... but the female was wearing a nice green dress, chestnut hair and a football shaped head similar to... Arnold's...

His eyes widened as he tried pinching himself several times. It couldn't be... could it?

Arnold's grandparents and the male and female turned as the male person smiled. "Well, look who's up early..."

"Dad?" Arnold whispered in shock.

"Morning, sweetheart. Sleep well?" The female person asked as she kissed Arnold on the forehead.

"Mom?" Arnold whispered in shock.

"Good morning to you too." The male person laughed a bit.

Arnold gave a big smile as he gave the two a big hug. "It is you!"

Miles and Stella just blinked in confusion by their son's sudden hug, but smiled anyway as they hugged their son as well.

"Grandpa, Grandma, when did they come back? Why didn't..." Arnold started to ask.

"Came back?" Arnold's grandfather asked as he turned to Miles. "Say, Miles, did you go somewhere behind my back?"

"Not that I recall, no." Miles shrugged.

"Hmmm... strange, Shortman here acts like you've been gone on a trip." Arnold's grandfather said.

Arnold frowned as he paused. Why were his grandparents acting like his parents were never gone? It was then Stella snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, Arnold, I have to get breakfast ready, could you wake up your sister?" Stella asked.

Arnold's eyes widened as he shook his head in disbelief. He had a sister? But Arnold just shook his head as if to play along... "Uh... s-sure..."

Arnold started walking back upstairs, as if confused. His parents were back, yes... but why did they act like they never left? Why were his grandparents acting like they never left? How did he get a sister?

Arnold stopped as he suddenly realized something. _"I have... a sibling... I have a sibling!"_

Arnold gave a big smile as he started to go upstairs... he then noted the left door as he knocked on it. "Oh, sis! Wake up!"

A groan was heard. Arnold blinked in confusion. "Come on, it's your brother. You have to wake up!"

A groan was heard as Arnold frowned. Why wasn't his sister excited to see him? Arnold paused. Maybe because she hadn't met him yet... but he was still excited. He opened the door slowly as he noticed that the other side of his room had been updated a bit, his retractable couch was still there, but somebody was sleeping in it as she pulled the covers... snoring was heard.

"Come on, sis, don't make me pull you out." Arnold frowned as he sat down.

"Go-away." The moan said.

Arnold sighed. "Mom's preparing breakfast..."

"Don't care. I like it in my bed. One more hour." The person groaned.

Arnold paused... as he smirked. "You know... I can tickle you from the sheets."

"You wouldn't dare..." The person said.

Arnold paused. That voiced sounded oddly familiar... but he shook his head as he started wrangling his fingers as childish laughing was heard.

"Oh come on, this isn't fair! Stop it, cut it out!" The voice cried out in shrill laughter.

"Come on out..." Arnold said.

"Okay, I'm getting up, I'm getting up, just stop tickling me, football head!" The voice smiled.

Arnold instantly froze when the person under the sheets uttered the last two words. He suddenly recognized that voice as the girl was getting out of the bed.

"You know, Arnold, you don't play fair... oh well, I'll get back at you tonight..." The girl in pink pajamas snickered as she yawned. "Tell Mom I'll be down as soon as I have my shower."

Arnold just stood there, frozen, staring at the blonde haired girl in pink pajamas in shock.

The blonde haired girl frowned as she reached for her pink bow and put it on for a moment. "Eh... well, looks good..."

"Helga Pataki?" Arnold whispered.

Helga stopped stiff as she turned to Arnold. "Arnold... I thought we agreed to not bring up mine and my sister's former last name. Don't you remember? I have bad memories of the Pataki place!"

Arnold paused. "Sorry, Helga... it's just... how long have you been living here?"

Helga stared at Arnold a bit... before laughing as she hugged Arnold. "Oh, always the joker, you are. Surely, you jest, little brother! You know perfectly well I've been living with you guys since I was four!"

* * *

And that should be the first chapter! How'd you like it? Now, updates won't be as much, but expect one every once in a while... hopefully, I at least got a good start at this fic! Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!


	2. Breakfast With The New Family

Here's the next chapter of this fic! Now, don't worry, folks, I am getting your reviews on my e-mail, so I have read them... I know it's frustrating because they haven't been updated on the site yet, but I'm sure the administrators are fixing the problem! Well, anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Arnold just stared at Helga, a bit stunned. "F-four?"

"Well, according to Olga, we technically met when we were both at least a year old, but yeah, I'm pretty sure we started living together at four once... THEY... lost the case, again, according to what Mom and Dad said." Helga said. "Look, I got to take my shower. Tell Mom I'll be right down as soon as I get there..."

With that, Helga grabbed her clothes and started going down. "And at least stay out of my room! Seriously, Arnold, you have your things, I have mine!"

Arnold nodded as he walked downstairs as he held his head.

 _"Helga is my sister... we've been living since we were four? What happened to Helga's real family? And if we both met at one year old, then... shouldn't... what?"_ Arnold thought to himself as he shook his head, coming back downstairs.

"Hey, champ!" Miles smiled as Arnold came into the room, instantly bringing him back to the fact that his parents were still there. "Get your sister up?"

"Yeah, Helga's up." Arnold nodded. "She's in the shower right now."

Stella, overhearing this from the kitchen, just laughed. "Well, that's our Helga for you... always shows off a bull-headed side, but has the decency to be good. I guess she has the bull-headedness from her father."

"Her... real one? Or..." Arnold asked, trying to be careful.

"Unfortunately, yes... but at least she knows when she's starting to act like it." Miles said.

"I guess..." Arnold said as he looked out the window, wondering how or why this all happened. "So... I was thinking about... San Lorenzo..."

Miles and Stella overheard as Stella laughed, "Ah, I guess your grandfather was reading to you Miles' old journals again..."

Arnold paused as he shrugged. "Yeah, I guess he has. I was always curious... did you guys ever go back to San Lorenzo for any reason?"

As Stella was finishing breakfast, she and Miles turned to Arnold awkwardly as Miles said, "Uh... no Arnold, we never did... not since we decided to move back to Hillwood."

"So... nobody came to ask you to go back to help the Green Eyed People cure the terrible illness?" Arnold raised an eyebrow.

"Well, an old friend of ours did come over when you were at least a year old, but that was just to catch up and tell us how everything was going out there." Miles explained.

"Yeah, it was a little bit of a catch up day for all of us..." Stella smiled. "That's about it, really..."

Arnold was surprised. How have they never left at all? Nothing related to what happened all the days before and yesterday...

Arnold then paused. Yesterday... he tried to think back to yesterday... he was depressed over the fact Mother's Day was coming, his parents were still gone, he spotted a well...

Arnold gasped. The well... could it have been possible...

Arnold didn't have much time to think on it as Stella was setting the table up. Stella sighed as she put in a place for Helga as she said, "Helga is always late on the dot."

Arnold's grandmother, hearing this, smirked. "I got this."

She then picked up a triangle and started ringing the bell.

Pretty soon, Arnold noted that the boarders were coming in as he looked around. So far, Mr. Potts, Mr. Hyunh, and the Kokoshkas seem to be pretty nice... what made him double take though was the girl following Mrs. Kokoshka out. Arnold rubbed his eyes as he recognized her.

"Lola?" Arnold mouthed quietly to himself as Lola sat with Mr. Potts.

"Morning, little guy. Sleep well?" Lola giggled as she started to rub Mr. Potts' head, causing Mr. Potts to blush.

"Lola, please. Kid present, here." Mr. Potts whispered as he pointed to Arnold.

"Sorry, Ernie, I just... feel a little affectionate..." Lola giggled as she hugged Ernie Potts. Arnold then noted the ring on Lola's ring finger on her right hand. He remembered Ernie Potts having a thing for that very girl back in his timeline, and as far as Arnold knew, she didn't have that ring on him.

All of a sudden, Helga, dressed up in pink, but now wearing a grey, backwards hat on top of her head, came in as she panted. "Man, I'm starved. Morning, Mr. Hyunh, morning Mrs. Kokoshka!"

"Morning, Helga!" Mrs. Kokoshka and Mr. Hyunh smiled.

"Morning Mr. and Mrs. Potts!" Helga said, sitting down at the table.

"Helga, you know we're just engaged, right?" Lola said as Arnold shook his head in shock.

"They're engaged?" Arnold mouthed to himself in shock. He remembered that in the original timeline, Mr. Potts and Lola were dating, but he didn't think... when did that happen?

"Morning, Grandpa, Grandma!" Helga smiled as she looked at the smiling old people.

"Hey, blondie!" Grandpa smiled. "You certainly look bright eyed and bushy tailed!"

"Morning, Mom, morning dad!" Helga smiled as she gave a smile to them, then turned to Arnold as she ruffled his hair. "And good morning to my favorite little football headed brother!"

"Hey, what about me?" Mr. Kokoshka complained. "Susie, how come she didn't say hello to me?"

Everyone at the table, except for Oskar, nearly groaned as Lola turned to Stella. "Stella, can I..."

"Sure..." Stella said as she handed some spray over to Lola. "Knock yourself out."

Upon seeing what Lola was holding in his mouth, Oskar smiled nervously as he did the shut lips motion and sat down.

Lola smirked as she handed the spray back to Stella as Stella said to Oskar, "Yeah... that's what we thought."

"No offense, Mr. Kokoshka, but... nobody here really... "likes" you." Helga sighed. "Please understand and respect that..."

As everyone was eating breakfast, Helga turned to Arnold in excitement, "Say, little bro, are you still up to 'the plan'?"

Arnold noticed that Helga was using her fingers to quote the word 'plan'. Arnold blinked as he said, "Uh... yeah, I believe so."

"Great!" Helga smiled.

Miles and Stella, overhearing Helga, frowned as Stella turned. "Hold it, you two. What are you kids up to?"

Helga looked at Arnold's parents nervously as she smiled. "Oh... me and Arnold? We're just going to our friend's place to hang out... at the park!"

"Helga... we talked about this." Miles sighed.

"I know, Dad, but we're not going to be going anywhere reckless!" Helga sighed.

"We know you won't, honey." Stella said as she leaned over and whispered in Arnold's ear. "Arnold, keep an eye on your sister. Lord knows we love her, but she can be really reckless!"

"All right, Mom." Arnold whispered back.

"Well... okay, fine. We won't question any more on where you two kids go... but remember the ground rules we make... don't try exploring an island on your own without adult supervision!"

Helga sighed. "I know, Dad. You don't have to bring up the Wheezin' Ed adventure."

"Second rule, if there's no mode of transportation for you guys to do, PLEASE, give us a call and let us know where you are, so we can pick you and your friends up. Arnold, you know this rule very well..." Stella said sternly at Arnold, who shook a bit. He missed his mom, but man she looked a little scary when she looked at her son. "...or do I need to remind you of your little 'subway' adventure?"

Arnold gulped as he looked down, even though he knew that in his world, his parents weren't there to remind him of such rules. "Sorry, Mom."

"Third rule... make sure your friends don't go into any shenanigans at all..." Miles said.

"Of course, I'm sure our little Arnold makes sure you and your friends follow the rules." Stella smiled as she patted Arnold's head. "He's a good boy."

Arnold gave a smile as he sighed, Miles coming over as well as he put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Yeah, who knows how many times my boy here prevents you, your friends and even his sweetheart from getting in trouble."

"I get it, Dad, Mom!" Helga frowned. "And don't worry. I'll make sure Arnold doesn't get us in trouble."

"Hey." Arnold glared as Helga chuckled.

"I'm kidding, little bro! You always like to get riled up when we decide to blame you." Helga laughed as she hugged him. The others smiled as they watched this little family moment.

"That is so sweet..." Oskar smiled.

"Who said you can talk!" Mr. Hyunh glared at Oskar as Oskar zipped his mouth again.

Arnold smiled as he felt the contact of his parents. For the first time in his life, he actually felt closure in seeing his parents for the first time in his life...

And yet, some things in this he still questioned... how could a wish from the well change everything so that his parents never left him? How was Helga adopted... and...

Arnold's brain then caught up with one certain word his father said... 'Sweetheart'. More specifically, his 'sweetheart'!

"Uh, Helga... you've known me for years, right?" Arnold whispered to Helga.

"Yeah... why?" Helga asked.

"About my... sweetheart... you think I should give her something?" Arnold asked her, wanting to make sure that to everyone, they knew he was acting the way the world wants him to act, that way, he wouldn't come out as confused as to who his girlfriend is.

"Well... she's very fashionable, she has glasses... but honestly, I'm not sure what you give a rich person." Helga sighed. "But hey, both of you 'wuv' each other SOOO much... I'm sure you'll figure out what gift to buy your precious girlfriend!"

Helga giggled as she turned back to her breakfast.

Arnold paused as he thought about the clues... glasses... sounded sort of like Phoebe... but her being rich didn't make sense... unless...

Arnold's eyes widened. He knew one other person who wore glasses at one point... but switched to contacts since in HIS timeline. Arnold didn't think it was possible, but according to Helga, it was. He couldn't believe it. When did it happen, and most importantly, how on Earth in this timeline did he fall for Rhonda Wellington Lloyd?

* * *

And there's the second chapter! How'd you like it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!


	3. Looking at Old Memories

Here's the next chapter of this fic! Well, anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Arnold later got back to his room after breakfast as he was looking around. He wasn't entirely off when he thought his room was a little closed in. Half of his big room was now divided up by a wall, assuming it was meant to signify which end of the room was which... He didn't know when that was added, maybe his parents added it in when they were... still here?

Arnold then took note of a lot of things, like the new pictures in the room. He picked one up and smiled as he noticed his parents in the photo, along with Arnold to their left, and... he noted Helga to the right. Arnold gave a smile as he examined it. As much as he didn't know this... "other" world, it seemed his family got along with him and Helga pretty well...

Arnold sighed as he looked down. He wasn't sure he would be used to calling Helga his sister... knowing that back in his world, she was a... rival who hid a secret crush from him. Arnold shook his head as he kept saying that the crush that Helga admitted to him was more of a 'heat of the moment', but somehow, he sincerely doubted it.

Arnold shook his head as he noticed another picture on the wall. Arnold picked it up as he noticed that it was a picture of Olga with Helga and Arnold. Arnold noted that in the photo, Olga was holding Helga, much to her annoyance, with the Arnold in the picture trying to hold in his laughter. Arnold then took the picture out of the frame when he noticed a little tab that said 'Flip'. Arnold decided to do that as he saw another picture behind it... this time, Olga was hugging Arnold tightly as his eyes were bulging in shock, with Helga, sitting to the right of Olga, laughing in sheer delight.

Arnold sighed as he wondered about something else... he quickly noticed his bookshelf, was labelled with books... he examined it as he noticed they were labeled by sections...

Arnold then noted the shelf in the last section was labeled 'Arnold's Family and Friend Memories'.

Arnold smiled as he picked out something random... his pre-school yearbook. Arnold paused as he looked at it. He hadn't quite looked at it in years... in his timeline. Lord knows how many times whoever the Arnold in this timeline looked over it...

Arnold paused. If he didn't remember a time when his parents were actually there and Helga was his sister, yet just arrived in that world in confusion, does that mean there's ANOTHER Arnold somewhere in his timeline where...

Arnold groaned as he put his hand over his head. It was all just so confusing!

Nevertheless, he opened up the pre-school book as he looked at a few pictures. He smiled as he saw Arnold and Gerald talking with each other. He sighed in relief as at least his friendship with Gerald hadn't changed. Arnold paused as he then examined a picture of Helga and Phoebe, the two of them looked like they were having a lot of fun.

Arnold paused. In his timeline, he knew that even though Helga and Phoebe were friends, Helga still had the habit of treating Phoebe as a bit of a servant... he wondered... since Helga's his sister now... did the friendship between the two change? Arnold then looked at the picture as he saw Helga hugging him as Gerald and Phoebe were giving slight giggles. Arnold smiled. It looked like it was...

Arnold then went and looked over some more pictures of his friends that he made. It looked like, for the most part, pretty much the same except for Phoebe and Helga looking really close, with Gerald and Arnold alongside, and Arnold and Helga were teasing each other in almost every shot they were in together... it wasn't until the second grade yearbook he picked up when he noticed a few signatures on it.

He looked at the signatures closely as he read some of them. Most of it included the names, like Sid and Stinky, but others were included as well as he read a couple messages.

 _'Hey man! You have a great summer! Meet you near the park next week! -Gerald'_

 _'As your sister always says, another year gone is another year to look forward to! -Phoebe'_

 _'To my favorite football head brother, we are going to have the greatest summer of our lives, you, me, Gerald, Phoebe, Nadine, Rhonda, you get the gist. Can't wait for it! -Your favorite sister, Helga'_

Arnold rolled his eyes as he looked at the next signature.

 _'Arnold, you are like, totally the best person to help me with my homework. Again, I really thank you. I guess you can say Helga and Nadine were a great help, but you're way different! Thanks for the help, hope to see you again, buddy! -Rhonda W. Lloyd'_

Arnold gave a bit of a chuckle as he read it. Guess the Arnold in his timeline must have got pretty close to Rhonda. He decided to look for pictures... and indeed, he saw pictures of the Arnold of this timeline and Rhonda sitting next together, doing their homework... he then noticed a taped picture as he picked it up. On it, he saw his second grade self in a sailor outfit, with the second grade Rhonda sitting next to him, wearing a mermaid outfit. He noticed the mark 'How cute!', which looked like it was in cursive, similar to...

Arnold double taked on the words written... he was about to reach for the top bookshelf when... he realized that the pink book he had in his timeline was probably not there in this one. He paused as he reached for his third grade yearbook as he opened it to find... there it was.

 _'As usual, I know we're going to have a great summer! Just make sure you keep an eye out, football headed brother! -Your favorite and important sister, Helga'_

Arnold snapped his fingers as he noticed the cursive writing. So... HELGA, his timeline's Helga... she really did write all those poems? So, could it possibly mean... it couldn't... could it?

Arnold then looked around as he noticed a few letters stacked nearby. He picked them up as he started reading them.

 _'Hi, Arnold. Thanks for the help in geography today. Heaven knows I couldn't get past it. Can we do our homework again, same time? Helga is right about you, you are really studious... and nice to talk to. Signed, Rhonda Wellington Lloyd.'_

Arnold smiled. Simple enough. He then looked at a few more letters that Rhonda sent him, which didn't contain much, but he had noticed that after a few letters, Rhonda's middle name was shortened to her initial and a common nickname of 'buddy' popped up every now and again as he continued readiing. He then stumbled across one letter which he found odd.

 _'Buddy... could you meet me after school today? There's something I wanted to get off my chest, and I didn't know how to convey it. Send me your signal so I'll know you got the letter when you come into class today. - Rhonda'_

Arnold raised an eyebrow as he wondered why he kept this one... until he went to the next letter afterwards, which immediately answered his question.

 _'Hey charming! I can't believe it's been almost a month since we were dating! I just can't believe you and I had the same mutual crush on each other... what are the odds, huh? Anyway, my parents approve of us being together, and they wanted to invite you over to dinner tonight... they also said to bring your parents to talk about the little relationship we've been doing... of course, I know Helga's going to be teasing us about the whole 'wedding'... honestly, your sister is such a closet romantic, she is already setting up our wedding days for every couple she sees has potential! She even called me her 'little brother's wife', for crying out loud! Though again, she likes to do this to every cute couple she romanticizes... still, hard to believe Brainy has a crush on her... she says she doesn't like the guy, but look at her blushing. I think she just has a major crush on the guy. Anyway, my parents are calling yours, so just so you know to be prepared. See you later. Love, your sweetheart, Rhonda.'_

Arnold stared in surprise as he read Rhonda's letter twice. It was still hard to believe he, himself, would have a crush on Rhonda Lloyd. He thought about it. In his timeleine, he admitted that Rhonda was really cute, and he wouldn't mind going out with her... if just for a while, but he had other interests at the time, like Ruth and Lila... besides, he didn't have THAT big a crush on Rhonda, and he knew that Rhonda, while maintaining a good friendship with him, probably wouldn't... like him like him.

But still, Arnold did pause to think about it. Would Rhonda and he have given a relationship a shot in his timeline?

"Hey, football head, can I come in?"

Arnold snapped out of his thoughts as he turned to see Helga coming in, smirking.

"Ah. I should have figured you were looking at the love letters your pwecious wittle girlfriend gave to you." Helga gave a snicker. "What's with all the yearbooks laying around? Looking for pictures of Rhonda to doodle little hearts next to?"

"Cut it out, Helga." Arnold sighed as he looked up to Helga. Even if Helga's now his adopted sister, she still is a teaser... but as he noted, she at least toned it down.

"Anyway, Gerald and Phoebe are here, and so are Nadine and your wittle adorable girlfriend!" Helga smirked. "Come on, football head, we need to prepare."

"Prepare?" Arnold asked as he followed Helga downstairs as he saw Gerald, Phoebe and Nadine waiting near the steps.

"Hey, man!" Gerald smiled as Arnold noticed his hair was down a bit, but otherwise, he still had the same thing on. "What's up?"

"I'm... doing okay, Gerald." Arnold paused as Phoebe was looking at her hair and examining it. Arnold also noticed Phoebe was wearing a blue shirt, and a black skirt.

"Sheesh, I need to get this combed a bit." Phoebe said as she smiled towards Helga. "Hey, BFF Helga!"

"Yo, BFF Phoebe!" Helga smiled. "Hey, Spidine!"

"Hi, Helga!" Nadine smiled as Arnold noticed that while Nadine still had her spider-hair, they were now held by butterfly clips, but she was also wearing a basketball jersey and blue shorts. Arnold examined Nadine in shock. It was as if he was looking at a new person.

Arnold looked over the group as he asked, "Where's Rhon-"

"Charming!" An excited voice shouted as two hands grabbed Arnold and turned him around. The next thing Arnold knew, his lips came in contact with a beautiful raven haired girl's lips. As soon as the lips broke contact, Arnold stared in shock at who just kissed him.

"Rhonda?" Arnold asked, looking at the violet shirt wearing girl with blue jeans, nice earrings, and her red glasses shining. Arnold couldn't believe it, but it was. Indeed stood Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, right before him... and Arnold's first thought on his reaction was, _"That was so sudden! What just happened?"_

His second thought following that was, _"I just got kissed by Rhonda Wellington Lloyd and... I think I actually ENJOY it!"_

* * *

And that is the end of the third chapter! How'd you like it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!


	4. Plans for Mother's Day

Here's the next chapter of this fic! Well, anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Arnold was still recovering from the kiss as Rhonda giggled. "Glad to see me? Because I'm glad to see you!"

"Okay, okay, Rhonda, give my little brother some room!" Helga rolled her eyes as Arnold was shaking his head. "I know you two are the main of the group, but can you seriously tone it down?"

"Okay, okay, Helga." Rhonda said as Arnold stopped shaking his head in shock. Rhonda then leaned towards Arnold and whispered, "Don't forget our little homework assignment."

As Rhonda sat down, Nadine just shook her head as she said, "I swear, you and Arnold are like peanut butter and jelly."

"Thanks for the sandwich comparisons, Nadine." Rhonda smiled, pronouncing Nadine's name in her own special way.

Nadine rolled her eyes as Phoebe looked up. "Well, I guess we're all here, then. BFF Helga, if you would?"

"Thank you." Helga said as Arnold sat down. "Okay, people. As you all have gathered, Mother's Day is just coming around the corner. I don't even need to ask what you guys have planned."

Rhonda smiled. "But of course. I plan on surprising my mother..."

"...by having your father help out by taking her to one of her favorite restaurants?" Arnold raised an eyebrow, guessing, because he knew the Rhonda of that timeline was planning on doing the same thing.

Arnold half expected Rhonda to be all snooty and say, "Well, obviously."

Arnold did not expect Rhonda to hug him and say, "You know me too well!"

"Okay, hands off my little brother. I need him alive." Helga said as Rhonda let go of Arnold. "Indeed. Nadine, did you have anything in mind?"

"Well... for me, I'm planning on giving my mother a gift... I know she's had her eye on a nice sixties' figurine..." Nadine said. "Fortunately, thanks to the small jobs we've been doing, I got at least enough to get it!"

"How much is that figurine, may I ask?" Arnold asked, in curiosity.

"...About fifty dollars. Fortunately, I made quite enough." Nadine gave a small smile.

"Are you... doing anything else with your mother?" Arnold asked out of curiosity.

"Well... I was thinking about taking her to a small concert..." Nadine said. "There's a little area nearby that's playing her favorite sixties songs, and I want to surprise her by taking her there!"

"That's very nice of you, Nadine." Phoebe smiled. "I'm just planning on going to the martial arts museum with my mother."

"There's a WHAT museum?" Arnold asked as Helga turned to him.

"Come on, Arnold." Phoebe laughed. "You know we've been talking about that museum for weeks now! It literally went up when we were in third grade!"

Arnold blinked in confusion as he frowned. As far as he knew, there was no martial art museum in his timeline.

"I'm planning on taking my mom to the movies! There's this movie that she wants to go see... and me and my family planned on the idea for weeks!" Gerald said. "You know, Jamie-O and Timberly may be annoying, but when we collide together, we do make a pretty good team!"

Arnold sighed in relief. At least some of Gerald's family life was more or less the same.

"What about you, man? What are you and Helga planning to do for your parents?" Gerald asked.

"Wh-what?" Arnold said in confusion.

"Go on, Arnold, tell them what we planned!" Helga smiled.

Arnold just noticed everyone was looking at him in the room. Arnold noticed he was sweating. He felt like he had a need to leave.

Helga looked at Arnold in concern. "You know... our plan for our mom?"

Arnold tried to think back... as he turned to Helga, "Helga, can I see you for a second alone?"

Helga blinked as she turned to the others. "Excuse us for a second."

Helga then dragged Arnold out of the kitchen and into the living room as Helga frowned, glaring at Arnold. Arnold felt a little intimidated by the glare, but he asked anyway, "What exactly were our plans for Mom?"

"How could you possibly forget? We had the perfect plan for a couple of weeks now! What is with you?" Helga frowned.

"I just... well..." Arnold said in worry. "Well, I just wanted a quick reminder as to what I can tell my friends."

Helga raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I get it. A little daydream on your girlfriend invaded your thoughts and that's why you forget our plans."

Arnold paused. "Uh... sure, let's go with that."

Arnold sighed in relief. At least it was better than 'you're not the Arnold I know'.

"Okay, just tell them that we're planning on buying the most expensive gift for Mom, and that's why we called everyone here." Helga smiled.

Arnold's eyes widened. "We are not robbing a store!"

Helga laughed. "Arnold, your imagination runs wild. We're not robbing a store, football head, we're just asking to help out in the community to get paid for today, AND... once we're done, maybe they can give their money to us!"

"Oh... well..." Arnold paused. "I guess that's fine..."

"Great!" Helga said, punching Arnold in the arm, making him wince. "Go get 'em, little brother!"

Arnold nodded as he walked out to the group of friends.

"Well?" Gerald asked, everyone staring.

"Well... this is why we called you here today. Helga and I want to buy a GOOD gift for our mom... but it's pretty expensive... and even with our little service paying jobs, it's still not quite enough. So, we were wondering, if... if possible... today, could you help me and Helga get some money raised to pay for her gift?"

"Arnold, we're your friends. Of course we'll help you!" Gerald said as Phoebe and Nadine nodded.

"Besides, we work good service in the park today, so that gives us a lot of good dough to rake in!" Rhonda smiled.

Helga nodded as she turned to the group of friends. "You guys really do have a knack for helping!"

"What can we say?" Phoebe sighed. "Anything you can do for us, we can do for you!"

"Great!" Arnold smiled. "So... we work at a park?"

"Only every other Saturday... for community." Nadine said. "After all, the owner of the park really appreciates us working there."

"Oh, who is the owner of the park?" Arnold asked.

"Come on, Arnold. You've met him! Several times, in fact. You know him as my father!" Rhonda smiled, clinging his hand onto hers.

Arnold's eyes widened in shock. Rhonda's father bought out the park in this timeline?

* * *

"Okay, kids, glad to see you can make it!" Buckley Lloyd smiled as he looked at the six kids standing in front of him, Buckley smiled towards a nervous Arnold. "Ah, Arnold. You treating Rhonda well?"

Arnold didn't know how much in this timeline he treated Rhonda, so he just said, "Yes, she's... fine, sir."

"Daddy!" Rhonda said, blushing. "You know me and Arnold are buddies and boyfriend/girlfriend!"

"I know. He's truly a good boy." Buckley smiled as Helga snickered. "Okay, well... here's the deal. Here are the jobs you guys have to do... Helga, Phoebe, I trust you'll be fine with the trash duty?"

"Picking up garbage. Got it, Mister L." Helga nodded.

"Yes, sir." Phoebe nodded.

"Rhonda, Nadine, I want you to go over to the bug house and make sure every bug is accounted for. Okay?" Buckley asked.

"YES!" Nadine smiled as she cheered.

"Sure, daddy. I'm sure Nadine will be happy with this." Rhonda smiled... then shuddered. "Even if I don't..."

Rhonda then whispered to Arnold, "I expect at least a few kisses once I'm done in the bug house."

Arnold's eyes widened in shock. The idea of him and Rhonda just... having a relationship still freaked him out, but... if he had to do it...

"Arnold, Gerald, your job is just to empty the fountain and collect the coins that people have tossed in." Buckley said. "Make a calculation if you have to, just make sure it's all in a bag and brought to my desk."

"Yes, Mr. Lloyd!" Gerald smiled eagerly.

Arnold looked up and nodded. "Yes, Mr. Lloyd."

"Perfect. Thank you, kids. You're all wonderful!" Mr. Lloyd smiled.

* * *

"So how did the Lloyds manage to buy out the park?" Arnold asked Gerald as the two were walking.

"It's the weirdest thing, but a couple years ago, when we were in the first grade, the park went up for auction... the Lloyds happened to live near there, and they had a lot of money, so they bought the park and gave more servants some work..." Gerald said. "Because the Lloyds know that everybody loves walking around this park. Anyway, you know the rest of the story, since you and Rhonda started doing your little 'date' thing, you offered to work in his park for a bit, because funds were getting a little low for a go-kart we wanted to buy. It started out as a simple summer job, but we started enjoying it so much, we decided to come back every other Saturday except for holidays or if the park is fine that day, just to raise a little more money. It's a bit of good work, and it does pay pretty good."

"Wow..." Arnold said as he and Gerald arrived at the fountain, which Arnold recognized as the fountain that he made the wish on yesterday... in his timeline.

"Hey, man, you think wishes made in a wishing well are real?" Gerald asked. "Personally, I really don't think so..."

Arnold looked at the fountain in shock... and smiled, knowing that thanks to that well, it brought his parents to him... well, he was in a different timeline where Helga was his sister, Rhonda was his girlfriend, and the boarding house acted like his mother and father never left... but his parents were here! "I think they are real... in a way..."

Gerald shook his head. "You and your imagination... come on, let's get those coins."

Arnold nodded as Gerald flipped off the fountain and started taking off his shoes. Arnold did the same as the two waded inside the well. As they kept walking, Arnold noticed near the corner of his eye... Curly was sitting near the fountain, holding a zen position as he hummed. Arnold raised an eyebrow.

"What's Curly doing near the well?" Arnold raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh, Curly?" Gerald frowned. "Yeah, man, just ignore him. Like you said, he's probably in one of his crazy plan mode... I mean, we heard him ramble on about 'wells' and 'other dimensions'. Personally, I think it's a hunk of baloney!"

Arnold's eyes shot in wonder as he looked at Curly. Did Curly know something about this well?

He knew he would have to ask him sometime... maybe after the workload was finished.

* * *

And that is the end of the fourth chapter! How'd you like it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!


	5. Asking Helga Some Questions

Here's the next chapter! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

As soon as Arnold and Gerald were done with their coin collecting at the fountain, Arnold looked over the amount of coins from the fountain as he said, "Somehow, I feel a little odd just doing this..."

"I say, man." Gerald said. "You act like you were doing this for the first time in your life!"

"Weirdly enough..." Arnold started as he turned to Gerald... then paused as he realized this wasn't the Gerald in his universe. "Never mind. You know, I'm lucky to have Helga for a sister, sometimes."

Arnold was trying to get Gerald to see what he could tell him about Helga... Gerald raised an eyebrow as he asked, "How so?"

"I don't know... I guess she's a lot more adventurous when it comes to how we can do some things... I mean, she may not believe some of your tales... but she does want to solve those mysteries..."

"As do you." Gerald laughed. "Yeah, you and your sister are just the Mystery Explorers."

"Mystery Explorers?" Arnold asked as they were headed back.

"Yeah, man! I mean, you two always want to explore even the most curious of places, and me, Phoebe, Rhonda, Nadine, and just about anybody with us has to come with you two to solve it... I mean, come on, Arnold... the Haunted Train, Wheezin' Ed, the Sewer King, the Bermuda Triangle, the graveyard, Monkeyman... although that last one isn't really a mystery, it's Olga's boyfriend playing hero..."

"Back up, Olga Pa-" Arnold started... before he realized that he didn't know whether Olga qualified as his second sister or not... he knew he saw her in the pictures, but he wasn't entirely sure. "Er... Helga's older sister has a boyfriend?"

"Oh, Arnold, stop being dumb! You know exactly who Olga Pataki-Shortman is, and in case you don't... I'm sure Helga doesn't want you to forget about it..." Gerald rolled his eyes.

Arnold knew he'd have to go to a library later... see if there were any old articles on Olga Pataki, because from what he overheard from a conversation from Helga and Phoebe in his old timeline, "I'm sure the library's has a LOT of Olga's old stuff".

"Okay, sorry. Anyway, how are you and Phoebe doing?" Arnold asked, hoping he'd at least get an answer for that.

"Me and Phoebe? We're fine, man. Yeah, Phoebe's into the science-y stuff, but we do talk to each other a lot..." Gerald paused... as he then whispered, "Hey man, you think she likes my jazz ring? I heard chicks really dig this stuff..."

Arnold blinked as he noticed the jazz ring on Gerald's finger... then shrugged. "Well, Gerald, it would be impressive, but I'm sure it's going to take more than a jazz ring to impress Phoebe."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Gerald sighed. "Sorry, I'm trying to see if I can get together with Phoebe and... how did you do it, man? How did you manage to snag Rhonda as your girlfriend?"

Not even Arnold had the answer to that question, but he knew that he must have did something right in his childhood that made him friends and eventually, boyfriend and girlfriend with Rhonda Lloyd. He didn't know his feelings about Rhonda in the other timeline, but here... it seemed, in some weird way, maybe the Arnold found something in this Rhonda that was appealing to him... and he had to admit, this Rhonda looked really cute...

"I guess with the right words and me being friends and partners with her... I guess we got stuck like that..." Arnold said as he sighed in relief.

Gerald chuckled. "Ah, I see."

Pretty soon, Arnold and Gerald arrived at the office where Rhonda's father was working as Buckley smiled towards the boys. The two kids then nodded and handed Buckley Lloyd the bag of coins. "Well done, boys. I know it's a tough job, but hey, you collected quite a lot of coins! Who knows what next week will bring?"

Arnold and Gerald both laughed a bit.

* * *

Pretty soon, the girls, along with Arnold and Gerald, walked out of the park as Helga was counting the money that everybody combined together.

"All right... I think we got enough for the gift!" Helga smirked. "Thanks again, guys."

"Anytime, Helga!" Phoebe said as Rhonda gave Arnold a kiss on the cheek.

"See you Monday at school, sweetie." Rhonda giggled as she started to walk off. "Come on, Nadine, let's go to the arcade!"

"Be right behind you!" Nadine nodded as she started to follow Rhonda off.

Arnold just stood there, blushing as Phoebe giggled and Gerald laughed. Helga, on the other hand, gave a smirk as she said, "Well, it looks like you two have plans."

"Sh-shut up." Arnold furiously blushed.

Helga laughed. "Anyway, Arnold, I'm going to the store now to get the gift for Mom."

"You're going to be okay on your own?" Arnold asked. "Maybe I should go with you..."

"Come on, Arnold, don't you trust me?" Helga gave an innocent smile... before she noted Arnold going closer. "I'm hurt, I really am."

"Well, I love to help with your shopping, but I have a lot to do as it is. See you guys later..." Phoebe said as she started to walk off.

"Wait up, Pheebs!" Gerald called as he followed Phoebe.

Helga gave a chuckle as she shook her head. "Gerald is just so pathetic when it comes around Phoebe..."

"Does Phoebe like him?" Arnold asked, concerned.

"Oh, she does. She realizes that Gerald is being a dork about it, but she does like him." Helga laughed. "Anyway, once we get to the store, we're going to get the gift, be in and out!"

"Very well..." Arnold said as he and Helga caught the bus. "I'll pay bus fare..."

"Sweet." Helga said as Arnold paid the two quarters for each him and Helga to ride the bus.

As the two sat together, Arnold just stared at Helga awkwardly as he shuffled his feet, nervously, trying to think.

"You okay, Football Head? You've been a little quiet." Helga asked, concerned.

"I was just thinking... about the Pa- the you-know-what." Arnold sighed, knowing that the word 'Pataki' might put a trigger on Helga.

Helga got what he meant as she sighed, "What about them?"

"Well... I was thinking... had what happened with us NEVER happened with us... I mean, if we weren't siblings... would we be... different?" Arnold asked.

Helga raised an eyebrow as she asked, "I... I'm not sure what you mean."

"Well... suppose you weren't with your REAL parents... and my parents weren't there to find you and Olga... and suppose none of that happened, and I still met you, but under a different circumstance. Would we still be friends, like this, or..." Arnold paused.

"Oh..." Helga paused as she looked down. "To be honest, Arnold, I'm not exactly sure what would have happened... I mean, my parents are serving time, so I don't know what would happen if they didn't get found out... but if they didn't... I don't know, maybe? I guess I would have been a troubled child who needed some help..."

"Here's another question... would you like me as a sibling or... as a love interest?" Arnold asked.

"Ew, what?" Helga said, reacting in disgust.

"Again, this is theoretical." Arnold asked.

"Sorry, it's just... I'm your sister! Adopted, yes, but I'm still your sister!" Helga took a deep breath. "I suppose... if none of what happened happened, then... I'm not sure myself. I'd say I'd go out with you... and I don't know, maybe it would work?... but seeing the way we are now, I think I'd like you as a sibling."

"Okay... just thought I'd ask..." Arnold said. "Sorry I brought it up..."

"Eh, it's all right..." Helga chuckled. "Though messed-up they are, they are pretty good theoretical questions to think about... but do me a favor. When we get home, take a long shower and put that soap on your head... then let me have a go at it after you're done. I want that mental image of us kissing each other even though we're brother and sister out of my mind!"

"Deal." Arnold chuckled as him and Helga grabbed hands and waved their thumbs... much like... his and Gerald's secret handsha-

Arnold's eyes widened. "How did you learn that handshake?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "We all have it in our groups, duh! It's like our friend group secret shake! How could you possibly forgot?"

"Oh... right. Sorry." Arnold said, looking down in embarrassment.

Helga rolled her eyes as she shook her head as she muttered to herself, "That brother of mine... what a klutz..."

* * *

And there's the fifth chapter! How did you like it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!


	6. Learning About the Wish

Here's the next chapter! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

After Arnold and Helga had exited the mall with Helga holding the bag with the gift in hand, Helga gave a chuckle as she looked in the bag. "Mom will definitely approve of this. Thanks again for thinking of that, football headed-bro."

"Uh... sure." Arnold said as he and Helga caught the next bus.

"Well, I'm done with my shopping for the day, so I'm going to be taking this home. Want to come with?" Helga asked.

"Actually, Helga, I plan on doing some research at the library..." Arnold said.

Helga sighed. "Nerd. You're always like this, you know? You give the greatest advice in the world, you help us in need, and you still find time to do your book report. You know, Phoebe is NUMBER ONE nerd and I don't think she'd appreciate you taking that title away from her."

Arnold gave a chuckle as he said, "I'm sure Phoebe wouldn't mind competition..."

Helga shrugged, "I said that to her, and she said, 'it's on.' But seriously, go easy on little Phoebe when you do your research, okay?"

"I won't be long... sis?" Arnold said, struggling.

Helga raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure you okay, Arnold? You keep reacting to me like you've seen me for the first time."

Before Arnold could try to answer with a white lie, the bus stopped as Helga looked out. "Well, there's your stop. Just don't be long."

"Okay, see you later, Helga!" Arnold said as he gave a sigh of relief, running out.

Arnold took a deep breath as he looked up at the Hillwood Public Library. He gave a big sigh in relief as he started to walk in and went over to the old newspaper collection section.

 _"Somewhere in this pile is a bunch of newspapers that has a Pataki name somewhere..."_ Arnold said, filing through the newspapers... before spotting Olga's name. He pulled it out and frowned. _"No, this is before Helga was born! I want one where AFTER she was born... sometime after March... there we go! Let's see, Pataki, Pataki... what's this?"_

Arnold noticed a newspaper that had a big headline that noted 'SHORTMAN VS PATAKI: CUSTODY WAR'. Arnold picked up the newspaper and started reading the headlines.

* * *

 **SHORTMAN VS PATAKI: CUSTODY WAR**

 _Today, on July 23rd of 1992, a controversy of Big Bob Pataki's beeper business started going down the tubes when the evidence between on whether Big Bob was suitable to raise a family on his own or not seemed to lean towards the 'not' side as people started investigating his own house and finding out interesting details about the Pataki homelife._

 _It all began a few months ago when, at pure chance, a nice family known as the Shortman family came across a nervous one-year old girl, clinging on to a sixteen-year-old blonde hair girl who was taking her out for a walk. The sixteen-year-old girl, known to many as the infamous 'Olga Pataki', was considered to be the girl as she shared the private story of the Pataki family towards this little family._

 _"I didn't know what was wrong with Helga." Olga said, explaining her story as a witness. "In this family, my parents never had time for Helga, even when she was crying and hungry. I felt like I was the only person taking care of her. I don't know what happened in between my family paying more attention to me and ignoring Helga. I wanted to say something, but I was afraid of what my father might have said. When I met the Shortman family, they helped me, along with Helga, get on my own two feet every two days of the week... three days if we weren't busy... sometimes, I even let the Shortmans babysit Helga until I got back, and from what I've seen, Helga was always calm and playful around the Shortmans' only son. I feel that they could be better caretakers for Helga."_

 _Miriam Pataki, the supposed mother of the Patakis, was unavailable for comment, mainly because she is being held for drinking... Bob Pataki, on the other hand, had this to say._

 _"I don't know what rumors have been going around, but I love my daughters, both of them!"_

 _When asked the names of his daughters, Bob scoffed as he said, "Olga, and... the other one's name that sounds like Olga. I mean, I don't pay attention to EVERY detail!"_

 _That line proved to be a mistake on Big Bob Pataki's end as everything seemed to go wrong for the Pataki adults._

* * *

Arnold decided he read enough as he put the newspaper aside. Arnold frowned in anger as his thoughts were starting to get jumbled.

"They're horrible people, aren't they?"

Arnold looked over as he saw Curly, humming to himself. Arnold frowned. "I know! Who in their right mind would treat a child this way! I can't believe I never figured it out in... in..."

Arnold realized Curly was right there as he couldn't say it... then groaned. "Forget it, you'd think I'm crazy."

"...in your other dimension?" Curly shrugged. "Yeah, I probably would."

Arnold shook his head in disbelief as he looked at Curly in shock. "Wait... you know I'm not of this world?"

"Well... kind of, sort of. You see, Arnold, I'm just a little... spirit, if you will... your guide to this world that you are currently staying in." Curly said.

Arnold paused as he looked at Curly. "Curly, do you know where I am? I mean, this is clearly Hillwood City, but... not the same one I know..."

"It depends on the wish you made on that well... what did you wish for, exactly?" Curly asked.

"...I only wished for my parents to return to me... well, technically, I wished for a world where my parents never left me..." Arnold said.

"And you got it. You got that wish!" Curly said, smiling. "Aren't you so happy you're here with your parents?"

"Well... yes... and no. Yes, I love that I'm seeing my parents for the first time... but no, I didn't want to change the world to fit that!" Arnold explained.

"Well, unless you make another wish on that well to wish everything back to the way it was, you're stuck here." Curly said, humming a bit.

"I get it... tell me, Curly. If I'm here, does that mean there's another Arnold somewhere that lives in this world that's trapped in another?" Arnold asked.

"Well..." Curly said. "It's complicated. You say in your world, your parents left you when you were a baby to take care of some thing in San Lorenzo and hasn't returned since?"

"...How did you know?" Arnold said in shock.

"Complete guess." Curly shrugged. "Well, when you made that wish in the well, when you went to sleep, everything started changing around you... kind of like a... soul transfer, if you will. Everything starts forming around you, and when you wake up, you're in a brand new world."

"...I guess I can get that... but why do I still remember my old memories... I mean, Helga STILL lived with the Patakis from what I can remember!" Arnold said.

"Ah... well, that's a little catch of the wishing well... when you make the wish, you're the only person who remembers how things were before the wish was made. That way, you'll have time to make another wish in the well to change everything back to the way it was... but you only have until a week." Curly explained.

"...what happens in a week?" Arnold asked.

"Your old memories will be replaced with the new ones, and you'll act like your old memories were nothing more than a mere dream." Curly said. He sighed. "I guess I shouldn't be too shocked. I tried that with the well once... I wished to be in a world where I could just be alone with nothing but olives... but when I found out that the world was populated with nothing but olives, it just drove me crazy! I was even an olive myself! I even almost lost memories before I came back! Man, that was an experience!"

Arnold raised an eyebrow. "I don't know whether to believe you or call you crazy."

"My point is, Arnold, if you want to enjoy this new life, go ahead... but if you change your mind... well... you only have one week." Curly said as he got up and started humming to himself.

Arnold paused as he looked at the clock. Almost five. Arnold groaned as he got up and held his head. He had a lot to think about...

* * *

Arnold sighed as he walked into the door and saw his smiling parents as they hugged him.

"There's our little Arnold!" Miles laughed, hugging him. "How was your day?"

"...it was good. Pretty good." Arnold said, smiling. "Helga make it home okay?"

"Yeah, she made it fine." Stella gave a smile. "She's helping Grandma with the piano playing right now."

On cue, square dance music on the piano was playing as Arnold's grandmother was hootin' and hollering a tune. Arnold smiled as he shook his head. Even in this universe, his grandmother can be so random.

Arnold looked between his smiling parents and paused. He had about a week before he had to go back...

He was NOT going to take advantage of this opportunity... to talk with his parents for the first time in his life!

"Do you guys want to play a game together?" Arnold said.

"Sure!" Miles nodded. "Just remember, your sister's part of the activity too."

"Of course." Arnold shook his head as he called, "HELGA, WE'RE GOING TO PLAY A BOARD GAME!"

"Ahh, yes! Finally! I can't wait to beat you again!" Helga said as she ran out.

"Helga, no running." Stella said, sternly as Helga frowned.

"Ugh, yes, mom." Helga shook her head.

Arnold paused. With his parents back and Helga actually being nice to him instead of being his bully... how could things go wrong?

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter! How did you like it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!


	7. Mother's Day Gift and Arcade Hangout

Here's the next chapter! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

The next morning, Arnold felt somebody sitting on him as he was trying to move.

"Someone get off me." Arnold mumbled as he opened his eyes a bit to see a pink dressed blur. He could only guess that it was Helga, his... sister. _"I don't think I'll ever get used to calling her my sister."_

"Oh no. You woke me up yesterday by tickling me. It's your turn to wake up by my methods." Helga smirked.

Arnold tried to breathe as he tried to raise his arm in surrender.

"What's that? You surrender? Oh, very well." Helga said, getting up from Arnold's body as Arnold took a deep breath and got out of bed. "Now come on, I need your help."

"Mother's Day gift, right." Arnold said, remembering quickly why Helga was waking him up.

"Help me wrap it up, quick. She's going to love it!" Helga smiled as she dragged Arnold over to her room to help wrap the gift.

* * *

"HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MOM!" Arnold and Helga smiled as they gave Stella the wrapped gift.

"Oh, thank you, kids." Stella smiled as she looked at the gift.

"Come on, open it, open it!" Helga said enthusiastically.

"All right, calm down, Helga." Stella said as she started to unwrap it. "You're really being antsy today."

Helga was smiling eagerly as Arnold looked over to her.

Stella then unwrapped the gift to reveal... a little statue figurine of a silver toucan. "Oh my gosh... you found this?"

"It wasn't easy to get, but we managed to get it." Arnold said, wondering what the toucan was for... whatever, his mother liked it, so it wasn't that bad.

"You always said that seeing wildlife figurines reminds you of all the wildlife you've seen around San Lorenzo, and we thought 'toucans were pretty wild'." Helga smiled.

"I love it, kids. Thank you!" Stella said, hugging both Arnold and Helga.

It was around this time that Miles came in the room and looked over. "There they are, the best family I can ask for."

"Hey, Dad!" Arnold and Helga smiled as they hugged him.

Miles then noted the silver toucan figurine that Stella was holding as he looked at it. "Wow, kids, this is your mother's gift? You know, it..."

"...reminds you of the wildlife in San Lorenzo?" Stella smiled. "That's what I just said."

Miles turned as he looked at the three. "How about we go out for breakfast, hm? All of us?"

"Sure!" Arnold and Helga smiled in delight. Arnold was sure Helga was smiling in delight because it meant eating with the family, but Arnold seemed to be the most excited because of the fact that this was another good memory he was spending with his actual parents... something he never had the chance with in his other timeline.

"I'd love that." Stella smiled as Miles took Stella by the hand.

* * *

By the time breakfast with the family was over, Arnold and Helga sighed as they were starting to walk for a while.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Helga smiled.

"I know!" Arnold smiled. "Being around the family, it's like a nice dream that I never want to wake up from!"

Helga raised an eyebrow in confusion as she turned to Arnold. "You say it like our parents abandoned us."

Arnold yelped. She didn't need to know that this Arnold she was seeing wasn't her brother. "What I mean is, it's nice to have them around. If they weren't around... who knows what would happen to us?"

"I don't know, Arnold. Maybe our grandparents might take care of us to the best of their abilities?" Helga shrugged.

"...Yeah..." Arnold paused and smiled. "Well, Helga, I guess we're free for the rest of the day. What do you want to do?"

Helga gave a smirk. "Throw rocks at the dumpster?"

Arnold rolled his eyes. He figured Helga would offer that since the Helga in his other timeline would offer that to Phoebe.

"You're right, Arnold. It wouldn't look good on our street cred." Helga said, misunderstanding Arnold's eye roll. "You know, the arcade is still open. I'm sure there's a little dancing game we have yet to beat."

"Are you challenging me?" Arnold smirked.

"You bet." Helga gave a smirk as she started running. "Beat you there!"

Arnold frowned as he started running after Helga. "Come back here, pigtails!"

"Not a chance, football head!" Helga laughed.

* * *

Later at the arcade, Arnold and Helga were doing good at the dancing game as Arnold was trying his best to outdo Helga. Arnold panted a bit as Helga, not missing a beat, was beating his score. "Darn it, Helga, you're too good at this!"

Helga just smirked as the song ended as Arnold panted. Helga smiled as the people who surrounded the dance machine they were on applauded. Helga gave a mock bow as Arnold just rolled his eyes.

"You did amazing, buddy."

Arnold yelped as he saw Rhonda coming over. "Rh-Rhonda! How... how did everything go with your mom?"

"Oh, you know, same old, same old." Rhonda smiled. "My father and I aren't planning on doing the restaurant surprise until tonight, so I had a free schedule!"

"So... you go to the arcade?" Arnold said, surprised at even seeing Rhonda being here. Arnold knew that Rhonda in his other timeline was more of a beauty salon person and less of a... physical gaming activity person... _"But this isn't my timeline, it's a new one... so I guess with her and me going out in THIS timeline... I guess it would make sense that she shares my likes."_

"Only when I'm bored." Rhonda shrugged as she and Arnold sat down nearby a table. "Oh, hey, look!"

Arnold turned and saw to his surprise... "Isn't that Brainy?"

Arnold noticed that Brainy looked pretty much the same, aside from his spiky hair being more laid out. He then noted Helga was blushing a bit as Rhonda giggled. "You know, she keeps denying it, but I think she fancies the little nerd."

Arnold just watched as Helga gave a nod as she inserted two quarters in, one for Brainy, one for herself as Brainy got up on the table. Arnold just watched as the music started blaring as Brainy and Helga competed. Much to Arnold's surprise, the wheezing nerd that he didn't think talked a whole lot was actually doing the best, even keeping up with Helga a lot of the time.

"Who knew that Brainy can put down a beat!" Arnold said in surprise as Rhonda clutched his hand.

"Ah, that's nothing compared to you and me..." Rhonda smiled as she put her hands on Arnold's face, lifting it up his eye level.

Arnold's eyes widened as her lips touched his lips again. Arnold, at first, wasn't quite sure how to respond... then figured that kissing back was only right, so as not to arouse suspicion. When he returned the kiss, he suddenly felt a new passion for Rhonda. He opened his eyes and looked at her as he blushed a bit. Rhonda gave a giggle as she said, "I may be a rich girl, Arnold... but I'm one of the gang... and besides... you're a really cute little nerd."

"Hey!" Arnold blushed furiously, but smiled at Rhonda anyway.

It was then the music stopped as Arnold and Rhonda turned to see Helga and Brainy pant a little bit, the dancing game had stopped.

Helga turned to Brainy as she put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to blush. "Not too bad, geeky. You actually caught up to me without having to rely on that inhaler."

Brainy looked down a bit before Helga hugged him, surprising him. "I'm just kidding, you little geek. You did great."

Brainy gave a smile as Helga let him go. "Well, I better go get my brother. I'm sure he and his girlfriend are... oh, there they are now. I'll meet up with you later."

"Uh... bye..." Brainy wheezed a bit as he waved.

Helga smiled as soon as Brainy turned his back and sighed happily. Helga yelped as Rhonda gave a smile to her and Arnold looked at Helga in curiosity. Helga frowned as she said, "What? Me and Brainy are friends. F-R-I-E-N-D-S!"

"That's not what your lovesick sigh says." Rhonda giggled.

"Look, Helga, I'm not worried whether you're in love with Brainy or not... but..." Arnold started before he tried to find the right words. "...but it's best you confess to the person you like before somebody may steal him away."

Helga looked at Arnold before she laughed. "Really, Arnold, who'd want to steal Brainy away?"

Arnold paused and laughed a bit. "I guess you're right. But still, you should really do it."

"Oh, what do you know, football headed brother of mine?" Helga laughed as she looked out. "Come on, Arnold, we have to go now. Say good-bye to your rich, glasses-wearing girlfriend."

Arnold looked at Rhonda as he said, "Guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

Rhonda smiled as she kissed Arnold on the cheek. "See you then."

Arnold gave a little smile, holding his cheek as Helga started to drag him off. "Come on, Romeo."

As Helga dragged Arnold out of the arcade, Arnold looked up at the sun as it was starting to become afternoon. Arnold took a deep breath as he sighed. He wondered what would happen at school tomorrow... would things be the same and what differences would they make in this timeline? He was honestly feeling a little nervous about that part.

* * *

And we end the seventh chapter right here! How'd you all like it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!


	8. The Backstory of Helga Shortman

Here's the next chapter! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Later that night, Arnold was getting comfortable in his bed when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in?"

Arnold looked surprised as he saw Helga opening the door, a little nervously. "Hey, little bro."

"Hey, Helga." Arnold said as Helga sat down next to his bed. "What's on your mind?"

Helga sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. "Do you like us?"

"Sorry?" Arnold raised an eyebrow.

"Me and Brainy. Do you like seeing us together?" Helga said as she looked at him. "Look, Arnoldo, I know the idea of your big sister being hurt has became apparent in the past, but, really, I really don't need the protection."

"Have I ever protected you from anyone I don't find trustworthy?" Arnold said in surprise.

"You seem to be a little growly when it comes to Iggy." Helga said.

Arnold, hearing Iggy's name, frowned as a bit of his old life came back to him. Helga frowned. "See, you're even doing it, just by a mention of Iggy's name! Come on, dude, you two already cleared the air... thanks to bringing Sid and Stinky to justice the first day. I don't see why you're overreacting to this."

"Because..." Arnold started... before stopping to think. Sure, in his old timeline, he was pretty angry at Iggy, but only after Arnold went through the humiliating bunny pajama experience. From what Helga had just told him, in this timeline, apparently, that didn't happen. It seemed it was clear the first day... so why was Arnold still feeling bitter... and from what Helga described, the other Arnold apparently still held a resentment against Iggy if it was that bad. "...well..."

"Exactly, you have no reason to hate Iggy. If anything, I should hate Iggy for thinking you betrayed his friendship. Granted, it is your reason as well, but still, at least you had a reason and a right. But still, you're supposed to be the friendliest face. Look, I'm just saying, don't pull an Iggy when it comes to me and Brainy, okay?" Helga said.

Arnold sighed. "Helga, you know better than I do that I know better than to interfere with your love life. If Brainy means that much to you, then who am I to argue that? Besides, I've seen you two, and... well... Brainy seems to really like you."

"You really think so?" Helga said, smiling a little. "Sure, he was a bit creepy at first, but at least he's been a little charming."

"Come on, I bet he loves reading your poems." Arnold smiled.

Helga gave a glare at Arnold. "Been sneaking into my room and reading my diary again, huh?"

Arnold looked a bit threatened as he gulped. Helga gave a chuckle as she said, "I'm only kidding you, football head. But seriously, touch my diary, or there's hell to pay."

"Got you." Arnold said. "Hey, you know, Helga, if you need any help on your feelings for Brainy... you know you can come to me, right?"

"Are you kidding, Arnold? Like, I'm the definition of pairing people up! I'm sure Brainy and I can get along very well... just like you and Rhonda!" Helga giggled as she got up.

Arnold noticed on the corner of his eye that the room was opened and he saw his parents looking in, as if listening to Arnold and Helga. Arnold raised an eyebrow at first, but ignored it as he turned to Helga. "You know something, Helga, you are the greatest sister I could ask for..."

Helga gave a chuckle as she gave a hug to Arnold. "Thanks, Arnold. Always the softie you are."

"Yeah, yeah..." Arnold rolled his eyes, hugging her back.

As soon as the hug was done, Helga got up as she said, "I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow morning, Arnold!"

Arnold nodded as Helga got up and started exiting the room. Arnold then heard, "Good night, mom, good night, dad."

"Night, sweetheart." Stella was heard saying and a smacking of lips against forehead was heard. "Be bright and bushy-tailed."

A couple minutes later, Miles and Stella instantly came in as Arnold was looking up at the sky, his parents sitting next to him as Stella smiled. "Hey, Arnold. We overheard you talking with Helga."

"I kinda figured you probably would." Arnold said.

"You know, Arnold, despite everything this family went through, from moving out of the jungle when you were a kid, to adopting Helga when both of you were four years old... even getting Olga in our family... you have really held up the family unit together." Miles smiled.

"Thanks, dad..." Arnold said... then paused as he looked up. "Hey, mom, dad... do you think you can tell me about Helga and Olga?"

"Oh, Arnold, we told you that story at least a couple times..." Stella smiled. "You should know it by heart."

"I do..." Arnold smiled, when clearly he didn't know the story by heart, since this was, after all, still the first time in the universe. He had limited access to the story, but not the full one. "...but I want to hear it again. From your words."

Miles and Stella looked at each other... as they nodded, Miles turning. "All right. Just once more. Well, you remember that no matter what, you were always our child, our first one... and we loved you dearly."

"Of course." Arnold smiled a bit.

"Well, one day, when you were eighteen months old, you crawled off on us again and we looked desperately to find you. It didn't take long to find you near a patch of dirt, where you were playing patty cake with a sweet little blonde haired girl around your age. We didn't know where she came from at first, but the girl seemed to have had your attention. It wasn't until an older girl by the name of Olga Pataki showed up, looking for her baby sister, who we thought was Olga's daughter at first." Stella explained.

"We both met up and noticed just how happy and playful both you and Helga were, so we left it be for a while as Olga explained who she was... and that she was actually baby-sitting little Helga here for her parents, but she seemed a little stressed out a bit. At first we thought maybe it was because she couldn't handle the stress of having a child, but it seems she's fine with it." Miles said.

"It wasn't until we said our good-byes to Helga and Olga that we noticed Helga seemed to be struggling, as if wanting to go back to the boy that actually offered to play with her. We stopped Olga for a moment and asked if we could babysit Helga, if her and her family was a bit too busy. Olga decided that maybe this would be a good option, and after talking with her parents a bit, her parents probably not realizing or caring that Helga was brought up, said yes. Two times we babysat Helga, and you and her seemed to be very happy children. Helga even took a shining to us, after realizing we wouldn't hurt her." Stella explained.

"And both times, we noticed that Helga didn't seem to be happy when she was being taken back with Olga and back to the Pataki household. So, when we babysat Helga a third time, your mother decided to examine her body, for signs of abuse... and while minor, she did have a couple of bruises... we suspected when Helga didn't seem to like touching these bruises. When Olga came back to pick her up, we asked her what she knew about Helga's bruises. She apparently didn't know about the bruises, as she had never seen them." Miles explained.

"Geez..." Arnold said, worried.

"We assigned her to keep a close eye on her parents, look at any signs beyond the happy faces they may put up. That was what caused Olga to open her mind a little bit, noticing how she got a lot of praise from her parents, and not once did they even pay attention to Helga, even when she was hungry or anything. She even told us that she watched the two in the middle of the night on how they're always arguing, but she never paid it any mind. She always told us that her mother often went to "smoothies" to get away, and the father often left for work, leaving her alone to take care of Helga. Either way, it didn't feel right with us, and thanks to the information Olga gave us, it gave us enough incentive to prepare for the court case." Stella said.

"And... you guys won, right? I think I remember you telling me that part. Helga's mother didn't arrive in court, and Helga's father kept shooting himself in the foot in his testimony." Arnold said.

Miles nodded. "Let me tell you something, Arnold. That man may be ruthless in business... but once everyone learned that he never really cared for his second child, it didn't work well in his favor..."

"So... who runs his beeper empire now?" Arnold asked. "I know he's been doing a beeper business..."

"Actually, it went to the next person in line for the beeper... but unfortunately, from what I've heard, beepers are getting pretty obsolete." Miles said.

"And since we were the ones to bring this to attention, in order to avoid Olga and Helga being orphans, we were more than happy to adopt the two." Stella said. "Now, since Olga and Helga were being adopted, Olga figured that the name Pataki was already sullied enough, especially with the whole fiasco that's happened, so when given the choice, she agreed to change her last name to Shortman... and she changed Helga's last name to Shortman as well. With that done, we became a good family, Helga was happy to be with you, you got two big sisters, and we were all very happy."

Arnold gave a smile. "I'm just glad to hear that Helga ended up with us. Could you imagine if we hadn't discovered Helga?"

Miles and Stella looked at each other, then to their son as Miles patted his hair. "I'm sure that, somehow, in someway, someone would be bound to discover Helga's problem and try to help her..."

Arnold sighed as he looked tired. Miles and Stella smiled as they hugged their son, Stella kissing her son on the cheek as she said, "Good night, sweetheart. Tomorrow's a school day."

Arnold nodded as he drifted off to sleep, dreaming about what was to come...

* * *

And the eighth chapter is done! How did you all like it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!


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